


crushed little stars

by aukusti



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 15:02:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aukusti/pseuds/aukusti
Summary: a moment in time where akechi pulls the trigger to save his life instead of end it.





	crushed little stars

**Author's Note:**

> kind of exactly what the summary states, featuring a change of heart that wasn't orchestrated

The putrid smell in the air. Blunt nails digging into soft flesh hard enough to draw blood. A blank gaze meeting his.

The sound of a gun hitting the floor. 

Akira didn’t know what to focus on first: the guard’s body on the far side of the room, a pool of blood dispersing beneath him; the gun he knew was meant to take his life; the boy who was _supposed to_ make sure he wouldn’t see this moment unfold before him and his rabid eyes, mouth slightly agape and vomit over his usually otherwise perfect appearance.

Somehow, all Akira could think was how beautiful he looked even then.

Akechi closed his mouth and Akira was mesmerized by the movement. He went to open it to say something but all that came out was a choked gasp, setting Akira immediately into motion. 

Akira stood up from the corner he had been backed into, inching towards Akechi as if to not scare him away. “We have to get out of here.”

The detective shook his head slowly as he backed up into a corner of his own. “This is wrong,” he said. His voice was loud in the otherwise silent interrogation room. He pointed a finger at the guard’s bloody body, not that far from where he was standing. “That’s supposed to be you,” his voice was nearly a rasp. “You’re _supposed_ to be dead and it’s supposed to be _me_ who pulls the trigger.” 

There was no trace of a certain pleasant boy’s voice in the words being spoken by the person in front of him. This wasn’t Goro Akechi, detective prince. This wasn’t the Goro Akechi who lurked in the metaverse with a black mask to kill cognitive doubles. This was _Goro Akechi_ , a boy who had been so desperate to obtain revenge he didn’t care how he did it, and here he was, having to deal with the aftershocks.

Too many hypotheticals to unravel in a present where there wasn’t a bullet planted between his eyes. “We can deal with the specifics later.” The urgency in Akira’s voice caused Akechi to look up at him with eyes so vacant it was a miracle they didn’t consume him whole. “We have to go before they notice I’m not dead and compensate by killing us both.” 

Another choked noise in the back of Akechi’s throat; a moment of hesitation. His heart had stopped, and slowly, _slowly_ , it kicked back into motion the way it always did under these circumstances. 

Akira stepped towards him, into the splattered blood as he outstretched his hand for Akechi to grab. A resolution, a promise—a plea. While Akechi’s never been quite so receptive, he latched onto Akira’s hand as if his life depended on it. And for once, it probably did, the tables turned and any indication of fate or destiny out the window because all there was in that one moment was two boys, more lost than they ever had been before, unknowingly tethering each other to any sense of security remaining in a room meant to ensure both their downfalls. 

**Author's Note:**

> not the first akeshu i've written, not the last but something i really needed to let out of my drafts  
> i have too many ideas and not enough concentration 
> 
> edit 12/18: i've decided this might've been an odd way to start a chaptered flashfic so it's a standalone work for now


End file.
